Career Story: Seventh Grade English Teacher

Seventh Grade English Teacher

Type of Company: To enlighten young middle school minds socially, academically, and emotionally.

Education: BA in English and Africana Studies, Bowdoin College  MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) from Columbia Teachers College.

Previous Experience: Taught in various private schools in New England before getting my certification for teaching public schools

Job Tasks: I teach middle school English (7th grade). I must find age appropriate reading materials that will challenge students and their perceptions of the world around them. I also teach analytical writing: the five paragraph essay, persuasive paragraphs. In addition, this is the year students learn to use quotations from the text to support their ideas, so we review how to sandwich quotations. We also try to incorporate creative and narrative writing as well. I also show movies, documentaries, or read articles that may relate to conversations we are having in the classroom.

Best and Worst Parts of the Job: Grading papers is the worst part of my job because of the amount of detail you need to pay attention to and the amount of time it takes to grade 87 two to three page papers.

The best part is the students. They always make anything you do worthwhile. They bring such joy and laughter to your day.

Job Tips:1. Work with kids in the summer as much as possible (be a camp counselor etc.) to be sure that you like the age group.

2. Love your subject and continue to take classes in that area to keep you motivated and fresh.

3. Learn how to schedule me time daily because the job is all about giving, not taking

Additional Thoughts: The most important quality for a teacher is passion and commitment. It's a hard job to do every day, but the benefits are so amazing. Kids are perceptive; they know when someone is not authentic. Meaning they know if a teacher truly loves what he/she is doing and if the teacher loves them. They want to see a commitment to them. That means you will be there after and before school. You will hold them accountable when they don't meet your expectations. Of course, they are not going to admit that they care about these things, but they do.

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What are Career Stories?

Career Stories are concise, real-world career overviews written by people relating their personal career experiences and wisdom. They provide invaluable insights and mentoring advice to students and career changers.